Rotary fastener



fasteners and, more particularly,

Patented Dec. 25, 1951 omer FASTENEB Ougljesa Jules 'I oup'itch, Chicago, 111., assignor to 7 Illinois Tool Works, Qhicagmlll a'corporation of Ill nois Applic tion December 1 9 Se ial Na- 7 91, 3,8 v

,5f3lai1 ns.

J-Ihi-s' invention relates generally to rotary to rotary fasteners adapted to be made from a single piece of sheet metal stock and designed for relatively quick attachment and detachment in response to partial rotation thereof.

Quickly operable rotary fasteners, such as fasteners heretofore known as cowl fasteners, have been used extensively for securing cow-ling parts as, for example, cowling parts of aircraft. it has been eornmon practice in the production of the aforesaid cowl fasteners to employ a solid cylindrical stud member equipped with a head at one end and a cross pin spaced axially from the "head. Such studs are relatively expensive to produce because of the solid round stock from which :Shfiet metal liiuhularshankcomprising oppositely mncayed elongated sections and integral head sec ion: at one extremity'thereof and lug-s termed nte ral with and extending lateral-1y .each of said: neatedshantkse ti n S. aifuzrtlierobiect .of the present inyention s r dc aziasteneriof :theitype referred to above in ich theslueis-icrmed integral with the shank portions which ,,are designed for ".camming (co ption with ,Qnelside of awork piece so as to 1 1- 2 11) h ldsa d wark piece pry-nieces between the its andstud 1; ad-

Another Q. 6613 Qf'athe present invention'is -to pre e in som pie e sheet inetal rotary fastener, a re ilient h ad ,;sbllllflll'lll.e which :will. cooperate w h h lu s establishin axia t nsion when t iaste r isseeu d in Work clampin positio It is still a further object of this inventionto provide a simple, ine pensive, -:ye.t exceptionally 611 as sheet metalpiastener sis-referred to above,

which means; are previded to cause an inter:-

l between the fiastencr and-the -w rk p e when the fastener is rotated to its work fastening pQsi-tioh, therebysecuringzthe lfastener against inadvertent or unauthorized loosening,

The foregoing and other ebiectsand advant ii;

"later described. :Strikihg cause-10cm a ing fingers}? 'prese ages will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a one piece sheet metal rotary fastener, which represents ene I bodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a ,side elevational view of the fastener disclosed in Figure l.

Fi 3 s lqns tu na esi al iew ke substantially along the line 3- 2 oi Figure 3'," the lower portion of the fastener shank being shown i el v on in rd r to m e clear y unde tan the structural arrangement oi the' lugs'or earn elements.

Figure 4 is a transv r e sec ional view aken su sta t al y a p s' the line 41-! 9 F gire 2- Fisure s is a la iew o a b an from whi h the fastener shown in Fig l-ri. in lusi e. be produced; a d

Fi ure 6 is a plan ew of a work shee are svided with an aperture .0; t e ype desig ed to ac mm d te the fastener 01 the present invem tion.

Referri now to he draw ngs ore in deta 25 wherein li e nume als there b en employed to designate similar parts thmu hput' 1 1 Y' iliQil figu it will be seen t at one embod me t the invention is illustrated by the rotary 215.. he designated generally by the numeral 10, Fig 1-}, inc u ive. It w l be seen tha heen r 1.0. y e formed rom asinsle piece o he t meta st clsas illustrated by the blank in liigur e ,5 ,,sai ;l blank being designated generally by the numeral This blank .A may be bent intermediate its e gtremities so as to proyide a blunt entering ,end [2. This entering end I! provides an integral connection between identical longitudinal ,oDDQSitely concaved shank sections 14. The-longitudinal margins of these shank sections l4 abut each ot e a d he two et qas ps smie n resentins a tubu tud p rtion des gna ed gen ra ly by the numeral {6, e

The endof the shank 16 oppos tely disp s from the entering, end 12 is provided with aresi'l ient head structure. designated generally by the numeral 18. This ahead structure is comprised of laterally extended resilient .dishedheacl sections 21! formed integral with the shank portions l 4. Struck downwardly from the central portion of each resilient head section 20 are looking or latching fingers 22, the purpose" of which extending across the resiiieiithe cess is of a size to accommodate shank sections it, Figure 3.

partingfrom the spirit and scope of the claims conventional turning tool, such as a screw driver (not shown).

Attention is now directed to wing-like lugs 25, which are formed integral with and extend laterally or radially outward from one margin of each shank section It. It will be noted that the upper portions of these lugs 25 provide cam surfaces 28., These cam surfaces 23 are preferably rigid and are designed primarily to coact with complementary rigid surfaces of a work piece as, for example, the anertured work piece 30 illustrated in Figure 6. The work piece 353 is provided with an aperture 32, slightly larger in diameter than the stud l6 andradial recesses 34, communicating at their inner ends with the circular recess 32. These radial openings 34 are designed to accommodate the lateral lugs or wings 2%. Particular attention is directed to the fact that the upper or free extremities of the lugs 26 overlap the abutting margins of the concaved By this construction, lateral shifting of the shank sections with respect to each other is positively avoided.

In applying the fastener to a work piece as, for example, the apertured work piece 3%, the shank it passes through the aperture 3% and the .lugs 25 register with and pass through the radial openings 34. Obviously, the thickness of the work piece or pieces must be greater than the minimum distance between the lug 253 and the under side of the fastener head [8. After the fastener has been initially inserted to its limiting position, it may be rotated by the use of a screw driver blade within the aligned head recesses 24. This causes the inclined surfaces 28 of the lugs 25 to exert a camming action against the complernentary adjacent portions of the under side. of the Work. Continued rotation causes the head is to be'flattened against the work surface, thereby setting up strong resilient axial tension. When the fastener has been rotated through 90, the latching fingers 28 are brought into registration and spring into locking association with the radial recesses as in the work piece. This secures the fastener against unauthorized or'inadvertent rotation after it has once been secured in place.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention contemplates an improved, quickly operable sheet metal fastener of the rotary type. The entire fastener is formed from a single piece of sheet metal stock and, although of sheet metal construction, it is capable of withstanding relatively high shear and tensile stresses. The device may be manufactured by practicing conventional stamping and forming operations and hence may be produced with the greatest economy. The resilient coaction between the fastener head and the lugs or wings formed integral with the stud shank'assures a very firm fastening and also makes possible automatic interlocking between the latching fingers on the head and complementary recesses in the work. It will be apparent that the resilient latching fingers disclosed herein are representative of only one embodiment of this feature of the invention. Other forms of prctuberances or projections extending downwardly from the head may be employed to interlock with complementary apertures in the work.

While, for purposes of illustration, certain structural features have been disclosed herein, it will be understoodthat the invention is capable of other modifications and changes without dee p e ed er t I claim:

1. A quickly operable sheet metal rotary fastener comprised of a single piece of sheet metal stock, including oppositely concaved shank sections having their longitudinal margins in abutting relation, a head portion on one extremity of and formed integral with said shank sections, said head portion having means-adapted to be gripped for rotating the shank sections, and oppositely disposed lugs formed integral with and extending outwardly from the periphery of said shank sections, each of said lugs presenting relatively rigid wing-like structures which sufficiently overlapthe adjacent abutting margins of the shank sections to prevent lateral shifting of said shanks'ections.

, 2. A quicklyoperable sheet metal rotary fastener comprising concaved shank portions having their longitudinal edges arranged to form a tubular shank, a head portion on one extremity of and formedi-ntegral with said shank, and oppositely disposed lugs formed integral with and extending outwardly from said shank-sections, each of said lugs presenting relatively rigid winglike structures having extensions which overlap the adjacent margins of :the shank sections to prevent lateral shifting of the shank sections.

3. A quickly operable sheet metal rotary fastener for mounting in a work piece comprising two oppositely concave shank portions joined at one end, the longitudinal edges of said shank portion being adapted to lie in abutting relationship to provide a tubular shank, a head adiacent one end of said shank to engage one surface of the work piece, and lug means formed on at least one of the longitudinal edges of said shank portion and extending radially outwardly therefrom for engaging the opposite side of said work piece, said head and said lug means being relatively yieldable axially of the shank and cooperating to clampingly engage the work piece therebetween upon rotation of the fastener relative to the-work piece, said lug means being shaped to overlie the junction of said longitudinal edges whereby to maintain said edges in abutting relationship.

4. A quickly operable sheet metal rotary fastener for mounting in a work piece comprising two'oppositelyconcave shank portions joined at one end, the longitudinal edges of said shank portion being adapted to 'lie in abutting'relationship'to provide a tubular shank, a head adjacent one end of said shank to engage one surface of the work piece, lug means formed on at least one of the longitudinal edges of said shank portion and extending radially outwardly therefrom for engaging the opposite side of said work piece, said head and said lug means being relatively yieldable axially of the shank and cooperating to clampingly engage the work piece therebetween upon rotation of the fastener relativeto the work piece, and latching means struck out from said head toward said lug means adapted to engage complementary recess portions in a work piece whereby to-- prevent inadvertent retrograde rotation of said fastener when in mounted position.

5. A fastener as set forth in claim 4, wherein (References on following page) i Number REFERENCES CITED 2,373,722 The following references are of record in the 2,399,181 file of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,509,192 Number Name Date 1,772,255 Kondolf Aug. 5, 1930 2,238,854 Wagstafi Apr. 15, 1941 Number 2,318,840 Del Camp May 11, 1943 10 480,240 2,340,250

Murphy Jan. 25, 1944 Name Date Von Opel Apr. 17, 1945 Graham Apr. 39, 1946 Poupitch Sept. 24, 1946 Churchill June 17, 1947 Poupitch May 23, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1938 

